Well, I am happy to announce that there is now a 3-way tie
for the most gorgeous spots we’ve seen along the Loop…the Benjamin Islands in
the North Channel are out of this world UNBELIEVABLY BEAUTIFUL!! The Eastern
portion of the North Channel was no disappointment, and exceeded our
expectations.
The biggest landmass of the North Channel is Manitoulin
Island, which is the largest fresh water island in the world. It is separated
from mainland Ontario by the North Channel, which is one of the most popular
cruising grounds in North America. It is also a major hunting destination in
Canada. Our first stop in the North Channel (on Manitoulin Island) was Little
Current, given its name from the water flowing through a narrow channel between
Manitoulin Island and mainland Ontario.
Having originally planned to stop briefly for provisions and
move to another destination, we were enticed to stay in Little Current for the
night and participate in a live broadcast of the Cruiser’s Net in the morning
before our departure. Roy Eaton, the long-time announcer and organizer of the
Cruiser’s Net broadcasts each morning (July-September) at 9:00 a.m. on VHF
Channel 71 from Anchor Inn in Little Current. He provides a wonderful service
to boaters cruising in the North Channel – asks about emergencies, provides
weather forecast, Canadian and U.S. news highlights, makes announcements and
invites boaters to relay their location/destination information. Roy asks visitors/attendees for
assistance to help record the boaters names and locations when they call in.
This is helpful for other boaters to locate one another and provides a record
in case of an emergency. It was enjoyable to see it “first-hand”, as we had
listened to this broadcast for several previous mornings and made our radio
call-in.
From Little Current we made our way to the Benjamin Islands,
one of the most spectacular stops along the way! At this anchorage, we swam,
went for a couple of dinghy rides to climb on the colorful rock formations, and
Jim caught four Canadian perch. Blue Willow and Patriot were anchored close to
a rock cliff with a spectacular view, and friends Renee & Greg on Thistle
came in later in the day and joined in our adventure.
After leaving the Benjamins, everything seemed
anticlimactic. Scenery, while still wild and pleasing to the eye, didn’t
deliver the brilliance and awe of our past few days. We spent the next night at
Gore Bay, which is a very nondescript area – good for re-provisioning groceries,
but not much else going on there. We had a quiet evening of dinner and cards
with Blue Willow.
The next stop was Meldrum Bay, an even less appealing area
than Gore Bay. Because of weather, we stayed two nights. Here, we managed to
accomplish some projects – laundry, cleaning, and more healthy card-playing.
Yesterday we left Meldrum Bay toward Drummond Island for
customs check-in before going to our planned anchorage at Harbor Island. It was
a bit of a rough ride, with high seas directly on the bow. Again, an
uncomfortable but safe ride brought us safely into Drummond Island Harbor. Thankfully, we had a fantastic customs agent
who checked us in and assisted us in playing a “payback” prank on Mark (Blue
Willow). We have great Blue Willow/Patriot stories to share, and they will
never be forgotten. FUN!!
First to cross the line in the North Channel from Canada to
U.S. was Blue Willow. They called on the radio with an announcement, which
included them reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. When we crossed the border, we
radioed them and loudly played God Bless America. As minor and silly as that
seems, there was something very moving and special about those moments of
crossing. It marked the very near end of our journey, both in traveling with
Blue Willow and finishing the Loop, and also a feeling of “being home”.
We departed Harbor Island (near Drummond Island) around 10 a.m. today and had rough water for the first part of our trip, but it calmed down about an hour into our 5-hour journey. Thus, our entry into Cheboygan channel was calm for Blue Willow's wake crossing. One year ago today they left on the Loop from Cheboygan so it was a huge feeling of accomplishment for them, and a time for celebration! We are looking forward to meeting their family tomorrow, who will be joining us for
tomorrow afternoon's official crossing celebration party.
Until weather permits (likely not until Tuesday), we will remain in Cheboygan and plan to go to Mackinac Island for a couple of days.
From there, we will journey to Charlevoix where we will have a fun weekend with
friends Al & Gayle, as they will be joining us for our final weekend on the
Loop. From Charlevoix we will travel down Michigan’s west coast and hope to be
in Ludington where we will cross our wake on Thursday or Friday, weather
permitting. We are now at the mercy of Mother Nature so must watch weather closely and plan our travels accordingly. Stay tuned for more definite plans, as we’ll want to celebrate our
crossing with friends and family who have so loyally followed our blog.
When we have a good internet connection, we will post photos from the past few days.
Life is good!
